Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents a major global health challenge, characterized by rising incidence and mortality rates, necessitating improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. This study aimed to elucidate the expression and functional role of PAK6, a protein linked to cancer progression, as a potential biomarker for CRC. Methods: Utilizing comprehensive analyses of transcriptomic and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), we performed differential expression assessments, survival analyses, and functional enrichment studies. Results: Our findings demonstrate a significant upregulation of PAK6 in CRC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues (p< 0.001), with a diagnostic AUC of 0.855, indicating its potential utility as a reliable biomarker for early detection. High PAK6 expression was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathological features, including poor differentiation, residual tumor presence and reduced overall survival (HR = 1.72,p= 0.004). Functional enrichment analyses revealed PAK6’s involvement in critical biological processes such as cell cycle regulation, alongside its correlation with immune infiltration, particularly NK and CD8+T cells. Moreover, PAK6 expression positively correlated with chemokines involved in immune cell recruitment, suggesting its role in modulating the tumor immune microenvironment. Conclusions: Our study underscores the significance of PAK6 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in CRC, with the potential to inform targeted therapeutic strategies and enhance patient outcomes. Future research should focus on validating these findings in larger cohorts and exploring PAK6-targeted interventions to improve immunotherapeutic responses in CRC patients
背景：结直肠癌（CRC）是全球面临的重大健康挑战，其发病率和死亡率持续上升，亟需改进诊断与治疗方法。本研究旨在阐明与癌症进展相关的PAK6蛋白在CRC中的表达及其功能作用，探讨其作为CRC潜在生物标志物的价值。方法：通过整合分析癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）和基因表达综合数据库（GEO）的转录组学与临床数据，我们进行了差异表达评估、生存分析和功能富集研究。结果：研究发现，与癌旁正常组织相比，CRC组织中PAK6表达显著上调（p<0.001），其诊断曲线下面积（AUC）达0.855，表明PAK6可作为早期检测的可靠生物标志物。PAK6高表达与侵袭性临床病理特征显著相关，包括低分化、肿瘤残留及总生存期缩短（风险比HR=1.72，p=0.004）。功能富集分析显示，PAK6参与细胞周期调控等关键生物学过程，并与免疫浸润（特别是NK细胞和CD8+T细胞）相关。此外，PAK6表达与参与免疫细胞募集的趋化因子呈正相关，提示其在调节肿瘤免疫微环境中发挥作用。结论：本研究证实PAK6可作为CRC诊断和预后的生物标志物，有望为靶向治疗策略提供依据并改善患者预后。未来研究需在更大规模队列中验证这些发现，并探索靶向PAK6的干预措施以提升CRC患者的免疫治疗应答。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家